The present disclosure generally relates to seat fabrics and, more particularly, to seat fabrics based on shape memory polymers.
Motor vehicle seats commonly include controls with which the vehicle driver can adjust various features (e.g., positional location, recline angle, lumbar support, leg support, seat bottom angle, and the like) of the seat. The features of these seats can be adjusted either manually (e.g., by means of lever mechanisms), or automatically (e.g., using electro-mechanical remote controllers, switches, buttons, key fobs, and the like). While a seat assembly incorporating automatic feature adjustment means may be more convenient, less labor intensive, and more precise in control, an actuator is necessary to permit adjustment of the particular seat feature. Current actuators may have high part counts, loud motors, complex circuitry; may cause electromagnetic field (EMF) interference; and may be expensive to fabricate.
There accordingly remains a need in the art for new and improved seat assemblies. It would be particularly desirable if these seat assemblies provided the advantages of automatic feature control relative to manual feature control while simultaneously offering performance advantages (e.g., fewer parts, quieter, simpler in design, less or no EMF interference, and/or less expensive to manufacture) over existing automatic seat assemblies.
Regardless of how the features of a vehicle seat(s) are adjusted, it may be quite difficult to precisely tune the seat shape (i.e., seat contour) as desired by a vehicle user because each aspect of a seat's shape generally requires a separate individual control device. For example, there are separate control devices for lumbar support, leg support, and seat bottom angle. Therefore, new and improved seat assemblies, such as those contemplated above, would be further advantageous if the ability to variably control the seat shape were provided such that individual controls for each aspect of the seat shape were not required.